The bestselling autobiography of American baseball and civil rights legend Jackie Robinson

Before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own candid, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues.

I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete; his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the Noble Experiment--Robinson would step up to bat to integrate and revolutionize baseball.

More than a baseball story, I Never Had It Made also reveals the highs and lows of Robinson's life after baseball. He recounts his political aspirations and civil rights activism; his friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, William Buckley, Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller; and his troubled relationship with his son, Jackie, Jr.

I Never Had It Made endures as an inspiring story of a man whose heroism extended well beyond the playing field.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Ecco Press
Published: 05/06/2003
ISBN: 9780060555979
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 1.10d
Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 66781 / I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
Reading Level: 8 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 17